Trip-rope tensioning and releasing device



July 13, 194s; E. s. BOSTON 2,444,974

TRIP-ROPE TENSIONING AND RELEASING DEVICES Filed Sept. 2l', 1944 plow Aframe for chassis.

Patented July 13, 1948 IcrmEn ,1s-rares acteur or Fica TRIELItPETENSIO EVICE v VElmer. S. Boston, Earlvllmlll..

Application-September 21, 1944, SeralNc. 555181 1 -lVlIyunvention relates to `novel tensioning and releasing :de-vices rfor Atractor trip-ropes and which :may conveniently be .called-a releasable tensioning device.

The object of `my invention is, in the main,'tc

provide a new and improved tractor trip-,rope holder fwhich .automatically maintains `the .trprope taut for all varying relationships between the tractor and an agricultural implement drawn byit, such as a plow, and which automatically releasestheztriperope in the eventftheimplement is disconnected from the plow Vas a result of strikingan obstruction, or-for anyother reason.

'Many agricultural 'implements are tractor drawnand are so'connected to thetractor that if fanobstruction is encountered, 'the implement isautomatically disconnected or unhitched from the tractor. Thus, yshould the implement strike arock or other obstruction, the implement stops immediatelywhile the 'tractor continues to travel until stopped-bythe'operator. The connection is-usually of :such-a nature that the tractor and implementmay occupy' various angular positions relative to-each'othen Many implements have parts which may be moved relative Itocthers. This Iis particularly true of ygang-plows. These have' blades or shares which may be raised -or lowered :relative to the The adjustment ofthe blades or shares is ordinarily done bythe opera- -torfof .the tractor -`through a rope, commonly,7

:sively complexandr expensive;` have vbeen proposed detachably to secure one end oithe trip-rope to a partof the tractorand make it available to the driver. Not' only are these devices compl-icatedand expensive, but .theyfdo not providel tor iany easyfadjustability of the-rope length land :they Ydo not maintain `the rope vtaut and easily available sothat the ropeis always conveniently accessible -to the driver.

fIt iszthusitheprimary object of myninvcntion :to;.prcvide a novel trip-rope releasing `and `tensioning device.

:,It is :.-a further object of myinvention'to vprovide afnew andimproved and exceedingly inexpensive trip-rope releasing device.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the ensuing description of one embodiment thereof, in the course 2 of which freie-rence :is -had fto ,the accompanying drawing, in which:

l is a perspective v-iew illustrating gmyreleasable Vtensioning device applied .to a tractpr drawn gang plow;

Fig. 2 yis an enlarged `fragmentary side eleva.- tional view of the ydeviceillustrating,.inparticu lar, the device attached to Nthe tractor vr driverfs seat;

Fig. 3 is a furtherfenlarged fragmentary .Aside elevationalfview of the device; `and Fig. 4 is asimilar end yelevationalview of .the device.

Referring' now tothe drawingsand particularly to'Fig. 1, the lreleasable tensioning device of my inventiom'which is indicated generally andas a whole `by ,referencevchara-cter l0, is shown in association with means, `such `as a tractor l2, for drawing an agricultural implement,.inthis case a gang plow lll. Thegtractor and gang plow, and also the hitch or connection I6 between the two, may all be of conventional constructionand for this reason detailed description of them is not deemed necessary. It is believed sufficient to state that the connection iscf -thereleasable type, i. e., the plow is automatically.disconnected from the tractor .when the draw .exceeds fa cer.- tain'value. -It also enables rthe tractor -and Aplow to occupy various angular pcsitionsrelative to `each other.

The gang plow also lincludesbladescr shares :i3 .which may be raised lor lowered ,inconventional manner by manipulation of g a f trip-rope ,2li extending between-t/heyplow -and the tractor-and having one end xedly secured to .a controLor operating y lever associated with the plow.

The -releasable tensioning device .lll of my .in- ,vention automatically maintains the ltriprope taut at all times and also autcrnaticallyreleases 4the ropeffrom thetractor in the event ,bhe-,Plow .is disconnected from thetractor.

In brief, the device includesa weight .secured totlie freefend of the rope` and means fonmovably and yreleasably securing A the Jropecto the tractor intermediate its ends so that i the 4weight .maintains the ropetaut and the rope may be lreadily freed-from the tractor vwhen the 'latter moves. away `from the plow.

The rope A2l) Vis -movably and releasablvsecured 'toza partof the tractor, preferably thee-,tractor seat and.- it is `kepttaut aszby ya irelativelyfeniall Weight 22.;secure.df,to:thaendfof tlie-freneiasjcysa set screw 24 (see Fig. 3), whereby the rope is easily accessible to the driver at all times. The weightis preferably of small diameter so that it 4 While but a single embodiment of my invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it is contemplated that the principles of my invention may be embodied in different forms of apparatus and that the device may be used with various types of equipment, and not only the tractor and plow specifically described. It should, therefore, be understood that the details of the described embodiment are not limitative of the invention except in so far as set forth in .the accompanying claims.

although other convenient means for supporting I the pulley may be used. If desired the pulley p could be attached to the seat by wire or the like.

The rope 20 rides upon the pulley 4wheel 36 so that the weight 22 maintains it taut no matter what the relation of the plow and tractor. Thus there is no danger or likelihood of the rope becoming entangled with the machinery.

When the plow is disconnected from the tractor when the latter is moving, the rope is disconnected from the tractor as the latter moves away from the plow. The end of the rope connected to the plow remains xed while the other (weighted) end is drawn upwardly and through the pulley frame or block 38 of novel construction and having an enlarged opening Mlabove the pulley wheel through `which the rope and weight pass.

The pulley frame 38 is preferably made of a single piece of relatively heavy, round metallic stock. It is formed with parallel portions 42 guiding the pulley wheel and oppositely extending and abutting ends 44 upon which the pulley wheel 36 is journalled for rotation. The ends are slotted oppositely and overlapped to increase the strength of the construction. The upper end of the frame, i. e., above the enlarged aperture 40,' is twisted through 180 degrees to provide a relatively small loop 48 through which shackle 30 is passed.

The operation and advantages of my novel releasable trip-rope tensioning device may be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. However, briefly to review them it may be noted that the weight 22 can be secured to one end of the rope in a simple manner and that the other end of the rope may then be attached to a plow or other implement. The pulley can be secured to the tractor or other drawing means in the manner illustrated and described orsimply as by the use of wire or the like. The weighted end of the rope is then passed through the aper- .ture 40 in the pulley whereby the device is installed and ready for operation.

The trip-rope is kept taut at all times no matter what the relative positions of the tractor and plow are. Furthermore, the rope is easily releasable from the tractor in the event the plow stops and the tractor continues to move. Furthermore, the two functions of maintaining the rope taut and the releasing of the rope are accomplished through a single simple device. Among the other advantages of the device may be noted the following: (l) the rope is easily accessible and remains at substantially the same location at all times; (2) the device is adapted quickly to be installed either initially or after it has been released as described above; and (3) the length of the rope may be so chosen that it can be easily used with different implements normally requiring different rope lengths.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A releasable tensioning device for a triprope used with `agricultural implements detachably connected to means for drawing the implemen-tyincluding in combination, means secured to the drawing means for movably supporting the trip-rope intermediate its ends, said meansy being apertured to receive the rope, and a weight secured to the trip-rope beyond said supporting means, said weight being sufficient to hold the rope taut and of a size to pass through the aperture in said supporting means, `whereby said weight maintains the rope taut and releasably secured the trip-rope to the drawing means.

2. A releasable tensioning device for a triprope used with agricultural implements detachably connected to means for drawing the implement, including in combination, means movably secured to the drawing means and apertured movably to receive and support thereon the triprope intermediate `the ends of the latter, and a weight secured to :the trip-rope beyond said supporting means; said Weight being suiiicient to hold the rope taut and of a size to pass through the aperture in said supporting means, whereby said weight maintains the rope taut and releasably secures the trip-rope to the drawing means.

3. A releasable tensioning device for a triprope used with agricultural implements detachably connected to means for drawing the implement, including in combination, a pulley movably secured to the drawing means and through which extends the free end of the trip-rope and having an enlarged opening radially outward of the pulley wheel, and a weight secured to the triprope beyond said supporting means, saidweight being sucient to hold the rope taut and of a size to pass through the opening in said pulley, whereby said weight maintains the rope taut and releasably secures the trip-rope to the drawing means.

ELMER S. BOSTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 906,999 Bourque Dec. 15, 1908 1,423,785 Wilde July 25, 1922 1,476,787 Adelmann Dec. 11, 1923 1,725,369 Rachlin e Aug. 20, 1929 1,765,492 Lucas June 24, 1930 1,786,314 Passmel Dec. 23, 1930 V1,800,700 Patton Apr. 14, 1931 1,807,038 Holden May 26, 1931 2,036,953 Morris Apr. 7, 1936 

